It took the British and Irish Lions over 18 months to source a new lion mascot
for this summer's tour of Australia because they could not find a
replacement with a suitably fierce expression.

The Daily Telegraph understands a team of 12 people were tasked with finding a replacement for 'Leo', the previous mascot for whom four previous tours had left him in a rather careworn state and ready for a well-deserved retirement.

The search however prove more difficult than expected because many of the potential candidates were turned down because they “just looked too cuddly”.

Leo’s replacement, who is called Bil (after the British and Irish Lions), or Billy, was eventually tracked down just two months ago at a toy shop in Geneva airport in Switzerland.

“We had a lot of people looking for the right lion, he needed to be fierce and mean business,” said Charlie McEwen, the Lions sales and marketing director, who eventually found Bil while returning from a skiing holiday with his wife.

“We took some photos and sent them around and got approval from the right people, including coaching staff.

“He had to have the right eyes. He is a lion that no-one is going to mess with. He is not a cuddly toy, he is a ferocious representative of the British and Irish Lions.

“We were looking for him for a year and a half and around 12 different people trying to find Bil. It was extremely difficult to find the right animal but we have found him just in the nick of time and he is looking proud."